Automatic cable-hanger distributer.



W. NICK.

AUTOMATIC CABLE HANGER DISTRIBUTER. APPL'ICATION FILED MAY 16. 1918.

Patented Apr. 1,1919.

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AUTOMATIC CABLE HANG ER DISTRIBUTER.

' APPLICATION FILED MAYIG. 1918- 1,299,218, Patented Apr. 1,1919.

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WILLIAM NICK, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

AUTOMATIC CABLE-HANGER DISTRIBUTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 1, 1919.

Application filed May 16, 1918. Serial No. 235,217.

i To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VVILLIAn NICK, a citizen of Russia, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Cable- Hanger Distributers, of which the following is a specification.

One object ofmy invention is to provldc in a messenger creeper automatic means for distributing cable hangers along a messen ger over which the cable travels.

Another object of my invention is to pro vide in a device of the class described means for crimping cable hangers onto a messenger strand.

With these and incidental objects in view the invention consists of certain novel features of construction and combination of parts, the essential elements of which are set forth inappended claims and a preferred form of embodiment of which is hereinafter described with reference to the drawing which accompanies and forms a part of this specification.

In the drawing, Figure 1, is a plan view of a messenger creeper embodying my invention, Fig. 2 is the side elevation of the same, Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional detail of the messenger and cooperating wheel flanges taken on the line 38 Fig. 1, Fig. 4 is a similar view taken on the line 44 Fig. 1, Fig. 5 is a conventional side elevation view of my distributer showing cable hangers distributed on a messenger strand and a cable pulled through part of the hangers so distributed; Fig. 6 is a detail view of the means used for feeding in the hanger magazine as viewed from the opposite side as shown in Fig. 2, and Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail taken on the line 77 Fig. 2.

The use of a creeper or dolly, for either carrying conductors, cables orworkmen from one pole to another pole by means of a messenger strand strung between the poles, has been known forsometime past and wherein my improved cable hanger distributer approximates these well known forms of creepers, a detail description will not be entered therein.

Looking at Fig. 5 the creeper 1 is designed to travel on and be supported by the messenger 2.

This creeper may be pulled along the messenger by a rope, attached at the end of the messenger toward which the creeper is traveling; it may be operated by a workman riding in the creeper or may be provided with automatic means for sending it between poles on the messenger 2 under its own source of power; but however propelled the distributing means would perform its function in the same or an analogous manner.

Looking at Fig. 1 it will be seen that a pair of wheels 3 and 4, carried by the frame 5 and journaled thereto, support the rear end of the creeper, while a similar pair of Wheels 6 and 7 support the front end of the creeper; both of these sets of wheels riding on the messenger 2 by means of the flanges 8, 9, 10 and 11 better shown in Figs. 2 and F rictionally driven by the wheels 4 and 7 is a disk 12 driving a shaft 13, Fig. 2, which in turn drives a flywheel 14, the shaft 13 beingjournaled in the frame of the device.

Similarly the wheels 3 and 6 drive a disk 5, which in turn drives a second flywheel 16, the purpose of the flywheels being to give the messenger a coasting effect, so the operation of crimping the cable hangers t the messenger will not stop the forward progress of the creeper.

The wheel 6 drives a pinion 17 which in turn drives an idle gear 18which in its turn drives a gear 19 Figs. 1 and 2.

The gear 19, which I call a feed gear, has

on the under surface thereof a disk 20 rounded off at its edges and preferably made of a rubber vulcanized so as to be quite solid and yet have considerable amount of resiliency. Driven by the gear 19 through the shaft 21 is an auxiliary distributing wheel 22 which is also rubber faced.

Looking at Figs. 3 and 4 it will be seen that the grooves intermediate of the flanges of the wheels 3, 4, 6 and 7 have rubber faces 23, 24,25 and 26 respectively for purposes herein described.

I use as an integral part of my distributer a magazine 27 Figs. 1 and 2 preferably made in the form of an open sided pipe having a flange 28 upstanding therefrom.

This flange 28 has a series of clips 29 formed as'shown in Figs. 2 and 7 adapted tohold down one side of the neck of the cable hanger 30, the hangers preferably being made of flat steel.

In operating my device the pipe 27 which may be of any suitable length, will be filled with messenger hangers placed as shown in Figs. 2 and 7 the pipe then hung upon the messenger strand by means of the cable hangers carried therein and the creeper with the pipe positioned as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 will be started across the stretch of messenger on which the cable hangers are to be distributed.

The messenger hangers 30 are of a type in common use and comprise the messenger strand loop 31 which is crimped "over the messenger by my device and the cable encircling loop 32, connected to themessenger loop by the extension or neck 33, as plainly shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4:.

As the creeper travels to the right, as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2, the wheels 3,4, 6

and 7 will be rotated by frictional contact with the messenger 2, this in turn will drive the distributing gear 19 and the auxiliary distributing wheel 22 through the train of gears 17 and 18 and the rubber disk 20 and the rubber faced wheel 22 will feed the magazine 27 inwardly with respect to the creeper.

I prefer to have thegear ratio and the size of the wheels such that when the creeper goes forward 20 inches the magazine will have been fed inwardly toward the creeper 1 inch, although, of course, the spacing of the cablehangers is a matter ofindividual judgment and may be changed at will. 0

As the creeper travels forwardly and the magazine 27 is fed inwardly, the Wheels-6 and 7 will grasp between them, thefirst of the cable hangers 30, pull it from the magazine 27 as the speed of travel of its flanges is greater than that of the pipe, and as their travel continue they will pass over this hanger, crimping it as shown in Fig. 3.

In the mean time the disk 20 and the rubber faced wheel 22 are moving the magazine 27 so as to present the second cable hanger to the wheels 6 and 7 at the proper timing, and in this manner the full magazine of cable hangers will be passed to the wheels 6 and 7 and crimped thereby.

During this operation the wheels and 1 will also pass over the hangers, crimping themas shown in the Fig. 4;, and as their flanges are shaped differently and positioned closely together the wheels 3 and 4 will complete the operation leaving the cable hanger as shown in Fig. 4:.

During the operation described a rope 31, Fig. 5, may pass through the magazine and cable hangers and may be attached to a cable 32 in any suitable manner, and the cable thus hauled through the distributer and permanently attached cable hangers during the process of distributing the cable hangers.

While I have described my invention and illustrated it with the drawing herewith, I do not wish myself to be understood as confining myself to the particular construction shown, as it is evident that my invention may be varied in many ways within the scope of the following claims.

Claims:

1. In an automatic cable hanger distributer adapted to travel on a messenger strand, means for carrying a quantity of cable hangers and means operated by said messenger strand for distributingsaidcable hangers along said messenger strand.

In an automatic cable hanger distributer the combination of multiple cable hangers, a crimping wheel adapted to cooperate with a messenger strand andmeans for feeding said cable hangers to said wheel successively.

3. In an automatic cable hanger distributor the combination of a magazine carrying therein multiple cable hangers, a frame work, means carried on said frame work for feeding therethrough said magazine and means carried on said framework for picking said cable hangers successively from said magazine and attaching them'to said messenger strand.

41. In an automatic cable hanger distributer the combination of a frame, flanged wheels cooperating therewith and adapted to support said frame on a messenger strand, a fly-wheel driven by the rotation of said wheels, a magazine for cable hangers and means for feeding said magazine toward said wheels whereby said cable hangers may be picked successively from said magazine.

5. In an automatic cable hanger distributer the combination of a frame, two pair of flanged wheels journaled in said distributer and adapted to pass there between a messenger strand and thereby. support said distributer on said strand, a dis tributer wheel associated with said messenger strand and gearing connecting saiddistributer wheel and one of said flanged wheels for reducing the relative rate of rotation of said distributing wheel and said flanged wheel.

6. In an automatic cable hanger distributer the combination of a magazine, multiple cable hangers carried by said magazine, means for crimping said cable hangers to a messenger strand and means for advancing said magazine towardsaid crimping means.

WILLIAM NICK.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of l'atnnts.

Washington, D. G. 

